Our OpenShift service ensures a straightforward upgrade experience by using the IBM Cloud console, sparing you the need for extensive OpenShift expertise with just a few clicks! For more information and methods on upgrading your cluster, look here.
When you deploy new clusters, the default OpenShift version remains 4.16 (soon to be 4.17); however, you have the flexibility to opt for immediate deployment of version 4.17.
In addition to all the great OpenShift features provided in this release, Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud version 4.17 also includes numerous component updates that our community is excited about. Some of the highlights for the release include:
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: In addition to RHEL8 and RHCOS availability, we’ve made RHEL 9 the default operating system for Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud version 4.17 Classic and VPC clusters. Specifically, it is based on the RHEL 9.2 host operating system – providing significant update, offering a range of new features and enhancements that make it a compelling choice for enterprise environments. This update increases the micro-architecture requirements to x86-64-v2. As a result, host machines for IBM Cloud Satellite must support x86-64-v2 architecture for any location that contains a Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud cluster version 4.17. See Host system requirements for more details. In addition, client machines used to run oc client version 4.17 must also support x86-64-v2 architecture – you can review the list of available oc version 4.17 clients.
Please note that upgrading a cluster to version 4.17 does not change the operation system for an existing worker pool. If you upgrade an existing cluster to version 4.17 and want your worker nodes to run RHEL 9, you must follow the steps to migrate your worker nodes.
For more information on Red Hat OpenShift version 4.17 and on RHEL 9, see the 4.17 version information and update actions and Red Hat OpenShift release notes.
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Validating Admission Policy: This powerful feature allows organizations to enforce specific rules on resources before they’re created or modified – acting as a gatekeeper, ensuring that only resources that adhere to predefined policies are admitted to the cluster.
Say an organization has a strict security policy that mandates all pods must run with a specific security context, such as a non-root user and a restricted set of capabilities. This policy can be enforced by defining a validating admission policy. When a pod is submitted, the validating admission controller will check if it adheres to the defined policy, and if it violates any of the policy’s rules, it will be denied, thus preventing its deployment.
For more information visit validating admission policies.
OpenShift version support updates
Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud now supports OpenShift version 4.17. Clusters running version 4.12 or 4.13 remain deprecated with end of support tentatively scheduled for February 26, 2025. It is important to note clusters that run a deprecated OpenShift version may not receive fixes for security vulnerabilities until they are updated to a supported version.
As a reminder, if your cluster runs a deprecated or unsupported OpenShift version, review the potential impact of each OpenShift version update, and update today. If your cluster runs an archived OpenShift version, create a new cluster and deploy your apps to the new cluster. Here is the current support status for Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud clusters running an earlier OpenShift version:
For general questions, engage our team via Slack by joining the discussion in the #general or #openshift channels on our public Slack.